As we race towards the end of another school year, and, for me, the end of my term as President, I want to thank all the DVMTA members who have taken on roles of leadership, volunteered service hours, registered students, and shared their expertise and skills. It has been an honor for me to work alongside some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met! We have faced challenges in which we have had to adapt and adjust, but the way members have pitched in to keep our organization strong has been truly inspirational. Tammy Shorts organized fantastic speakers for our monthly meetings; Randi Buell kept detailed minutes for our Board meetings and General meetings; Kelli Riding meticulously kept our financial records; Shannon Payne kept our website and technology up-to-date; Claire Westlake manages our Social Media presence; Denise Brown put our newsletters together; Lori Sprague kept track of Membership; Charles Newton, Lori Kaye Faler and Diana Palmer organized Music Marathon; Claire Westlake, Jessica Heidt and Debbie Englesman organized the Original Composition Festival; Sara Pratt, Carolyn Eldredge and an army of volunteers pulled together the Cavalcade of Rhythm; Lorri McHardy and a handful of volunteers ran our Awards in Excellence competition; Buffie Meeker and Autum Hunt shared their expertise and passion for teaching; Nancy Chase and Jenna Hartley organized social brunches; Karen Garlington chaired Hospitality; Toni Tetreau and Carolyn Rooder organized Achievement Day with the help of many volunteers; and Wendi Heslop will host our Awards Plus event. AND, if your name is included in “volunteers”, thank YOU so much!

The future of DVMTA looks bright! I want to welcome our DVMTA Executive Officers 2022-2024:

​Tammy Shorts: President
Toni Tetreau: Vice-President
Randi Buell: Treasurer
Lorri McHardy: Secretary

The strength of our organization depends on each member. How would you like to be involved this next term? Know that you will have the support you need as we work together, because we really do function “Better Together!”

Lori Weidemann
DVMTA President 2020-2022

Read the full May 2022 Newsletter

We are a family who loves to ride bicycles, and we’ve done so from the time our children were carrier-size to gooseneck-size to training wheels, and then on their own. I’ll never forget the day my husband had taken the training wheels off our 4-year-old son’s bike and, after keeping him balanced awhile by running alongside him, he let go. When my son realized what happened, he squealed in delight, “Look, Mom! I’m riding my bike and I don’t even know how to!!”

That’s a bit how I’ve felt these last couple of years as President of DVMTA – I’m doing it, and I don’t even know how to!! I can say that there have been SO many members running right alongside me, ready to catch me when I start to wobble, and giving me encouragement along the way. I could not be more grateful for the wonderful teacher friends who have been on this journey with me. It’s been exhilarating, alright! I said yes to the nomination just weeks before COVID lockdown started, and then stepped into a situation I could never have imagined. Who would have known we would be so resilient, would embrace the challenge to continue providing outlets for our students to thrive, and would be a community willing to share ideas and help one another navigate the new territory? I have gained SO MUCH by stepping up and just being willing, having no idea if I even had what it takes. Let me assure you that DVMTA is an organization that allows you to learn, and grow, and try new things, and there are people who have your back around every bend. I want to encourage you to say YES to stepping into a leadership role this next term, because you will be all the better for it, and you’ll realize you can do things you never even knew how to!

Lori Weidemann
DVMTA President 2020-2022

​Read the full April 2022 Newsletter

What a wonderful, busy, exciting time of the year it is! The exhilaration and feelings of accomplishment and success that Cavalcade brought propel us forward. The final weeks of the school year still hold the Awards in Excellence piano competition, April Brunch, Achievement Day, the Awards Plus recognition ceremony, and possibly your own studio recitals. But first --- SPRING BREAK! I know the kids are looking forward to it as much as the teachers!! I hope you will take some time to rest and rejuvenate yourself for the final push of the school year ahead. Don’t forget that what is needed MOST is encouragement to finish strong and not grow weary. I hope you will find a few moments to recognize and congratulate each of your students for their efforts and accomplishments, great or small. I have challenged myself to find new ways to do just that. Going beyond “good job,” you can say:

• “Listen to that! I can tell you put a lot of work into this piece.”
• “You didn’t give up. What made you keep going?”
• “Congratulations! That took a lot of time and effort, and you really improved.”
• “Wow! How did you do that?”
• “Look at that! You spent a lot of time focusing on the trouble spots and your piece really shows it!”
• “You really challenged yourself and your hard work and effort has paid off!“

There is no end to the ways in which we can encourage, motivate and inspire our students, which will rejuvenate them AND you --- and you’ll be glad you did!

Lori Weidemann

​Read the full March 2022 Newsletter

I love teaching! Some days I’m really aware of how much I love teaching and why, but there are some rough days when I wonder, “Why do I do this?” Here’s my list, but it’s certainly not exhaustive. You may want to write down your reasons someday!

I love sharing my passion for music, introducing young minds to new possibilities, beauty, creativity, enjoyment, and a sense of accomplishment. I love learning something new each day, adapting and adjusting to each student, getting to be creative by trying a new teaching technique, or finding a piece I’ve never taught before. I also love instilling discipline of practice, diligence to work at a piece methodically and the perseverance to keep at it until it’s right, and the stretching process that happens when I push my students beyond what they think they are capable of. I love when they experience a huge sense of accomplishment, or develop more self-confidence. It takes effort, lots of it, but I love the challenge to inspire and encourage them, to keep it fun and fresh, and to give them the experiences and tools they will need to be lifelong lovers of music.

An unknown author put it this way, “This is why I teach music… not because I expect you to major in music, not because I expect you to play or sing all your life, not so you can relax, not so you can have fun,… but so you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good, in short, more life.”

Lori Weidemann
DVMTA President 2020-2022

Read the full February 2022 Newsletter